šŸ”§ BUILD #imwithher. Frankā€™s ā€˜07 Prius adventures.

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Bought a Prius. Itā€™s exactly what I thought it would be. Like driving a washing machine. No thrills. All the economy.

Basics;

2007 Toyota Prius Base. 166,000 miles. Ex Lake County forest preserve vehicle. Came on brand new Goodyear tires, full tank of fuel and like 100 miles since the last service for $3,500. Everything works. No rust. Put 218 miles on it since yesterday AM. Averaging 51.2mpg. Most of that was with a passenger and trunk full of Costco purchases.

The purpose of this thing is to be a daily driver, and for me thatā€™s a big ask. It has a hitch on it with 1ā€ receiver for a bike rack, Iā€™ll add wiring to tow my 5x8 trailer. The rear suspension is sitting about 1ā€ lower than stock. From what Iā€™ve seen itā€™s a pretty common thing. A company in California used to convert these 2nd gens to plug-in hybrids, and used a local spring align type company to make the HD rear springs for the added battery packs they used. That company still makes the springs for customers if they ask so Iā€™ll be giving them a call tomorrow. Itā€™ll end up going from like 1ā€ of sag to about 3/4ā€ above stock ride height and is a stiffer spring. Perfect for packing full of stuff or trailer tongue weight. Figure Iā€™ll order new struts as well since Iā€™ll have them apart anyways.

Rear suspension upgrades, trailer wiring, window tint and regular maintenance is about all this will see. I imagine the thread will just be filled with pictures of me doing things in a Prius people donā€™t do in a 1500 pickup.

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Outlaw

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It really is... But I'm winning people over. Two of my friends have purchased them since I got mine :rofl:

One has a long ass work commute and just wanted something comfy and reliable with the gas prices being where they are again.

Other owns a lawn and power equipment company and delivers parts to his good customers and such. Uses a ranger now, was looking for a second ranger and I was like yo, just get a prius. You bring them mower blades and tires on 10" rims. Just fold the seats down. Loves it so far lmao.
 

Outlaw

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So they hold 11.6 supposedly. But the gas light comes on with roughly 2.5-3 gallons left in the tank. Iā€™ve been consistently getting 400-430 out of a tank and putting 7.5-8.2 gallons in.

They have a huge reserve because when you run one out of fuel theyā€™ll keep driving until you deplete the hybrid battery and then itā€™s a whole thing to get it towed and to find someone with a 260v hybrid charger lol.
 
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Outlaw

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It also has the stupid digital gauge, so thereā€™s no real way to tell how far youā€™re pushing it.

I fill it on the slowest flow setting at the pump and then top off one gallon. Pretty common to go 100+ before it moves. I have yet to do a tank of really paying attention to my driving, topping it off AND running it all the way until the low fuel light comes on. Thatā€™s my goal this time around. Should be able to see 450ish miles out of the tank.

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OffshoreDrilling

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Never ask on a Prius FB group if you should run synthetic or conventional oil because the manual doesnā€™t touch on it.

never

just donā€™t
These people are ridiculous :bowrofl:

I browse priuschat.com once in a while and people come UNHINGED at non conforming questions.

if itā€™s not in owners manual or in the vein of frugality/economy, their brains canā€™t handle.
 
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Outlaw

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Itā€™s unreal. Half of the messages are ā€œjust follow the owners manual!ā€ (Tried, instructions unclear) ā€œYouā€™re likely not qualified to make the determination of a service intervalā€ (Probably more qualified than you, Jody. Also, wasnā€™t a question)

Literally all I asked. Instructions unclear, dick stuck in ceiling fan.

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SaturdaysGS

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I meanā€¦ Iā€™d just use either either one, itā€™s a Toyota lol as long as oil is in thereā€¦ price difference for what, 5 quarts is meh if you do it yourself and get a jug from Walmart so Iā€™d splurge for the synthetic. I definitely wouldnā€™t ask any Facebook pages, unless you just strictly wanted to fuck with them [emoji1787]
 

Outlaw

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Like Jared said... half the people will lose it if you donā€™t treat the owners manual like the holy bible or spend .84 more than you need to for a superior product.

The other half will literally tell you to run 0W-20 and to put one gallon of paint thinner in your tank every 20,000 miles.

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Outlaw

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Currently on the fence about snow tires for this thing. I'm not sure how much it'll actually get driven during a storm around here, as I'll be out plowing and not driving it... But for going up to Hayward and for doing inspections out of state I'm thinking it might be cheap insurance.

Last FWD car I owned was my MK7 TDI and it was unstoppable on Blizzaks. Like, we took it down snowmobile trails in the UP unstoppable...
 
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RedBeard

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Currently on the fence about snow tires for this thing. I'm not sure how much it'll actually get driven during a storm around here, as I'll be out plowing and not driving it... But for going up to Hayward and for doing inspections out of state I'm thinking it might be cheap insurance.

Last FWD car I owned was my MK7 TDI and it was unstoppable on Blizzaks. Like, we took it down snowmobile trails in the UP unstoppable...
Snow tires are probably ~$400 for that thing, no? Do it!
 

OffshoreDrilling

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Currently on the fence about snow tires for this thing. I'm not sure how much it'll actually get driven during a storm around here, as I'll be out plowing and not driving it... But for going up to Hayward and for doing inspections out of state I'm thinking it might be cheap insurance.

Last FWD car I owned was my MK7 TDI and it was unstoppable on Blizzaks. Like, we took it down snowmobile trails in the UP unstoppable...
Prius on all seasons is better than my RWD 335i was on snow tires.
 
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